iOS 7 Is Radically Different, Yet It Can Still Radically Change When It Launches This Fall

Apple had introduced iOS 7 at its WWDC conference on Monday, and immediately developers were able to get their hands on the beta version of the mobile operating system. Overall, the software looks radically different from the iOS 6 predecessor that came before it, but don’t get too comfortable getting acclimated with how iOS 7 looks and feels so far.

A new report suggests that iOS 7, which is being overhauled by famed Apple hardware designer Jony Ive, may still continue to change before its final consumer release this fall. That means that the change isn’t finished yet, and the dust still has not settled for this release. Essentially, if this rumor is correct, this would be a radically different change, not just for the software but for Apple, a company that has been historically secretive about unfinished products in the past.

The version of iOS 7 that we’re seeing today in beta form and what was shown on stage at the WWDC keynote is being described as a “mid-stride snapshot” by The Next Web. In fact, the publication notes that some builds that were shown in stage are even more recent than the beta builds being pushed to developers.

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“Of the various aspects of iOS 7, the design of its icons and other visual cues are the most in flux at the moment,” TNW writes. “There are still refinements and conversations going on around them. I don’t know but would expect there to be a lot of fixes for the inconsistency we’re seeing in things like gradients and design language on the home screen.”

The reason for this is that Ive apparently recruited the marketing and communications team to design the icons and overall look for iOS 7. With these guidelines set, the design of the interior of the apps, basically everything that pops up once you launch the stock apps that Apple built, were made by the individual app design teams. And according to the report, there was little communication between the teams, leading to a disjointed overall design scheme for the OS and apps that we’re seeing today.

So what could change when the final version gets release? We may see 35-40 percent of iOS 7 being altered between this first beta to the final version, and many of these changes being reported may be on the visual side.

It’s unclear how much of this is accurate, but it’s definitely an interesting look at the changing dynamics of Apple. One potential reason for this new design strategy and showing an in progress work is that Apple was rumored to be behind schedule for iOS 7, and the company definitely wanted to get the OS out in time for WWDC. And if that means showing in-progress work, that would have to suffice.

And given how much has changed visually already, consumers may not be bothered about the discrepancies between how apps look and the overall experiences, which will continue to be refined until the final launch this fall.